BMC now says Gokhale Bridge will reopen partially before ‘heavy’ monsoons

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said that the Gokhale Bridge, which is undergoing reconstruction, will be partially opened before heavy monsoon. The civic body had initially said that two lanes of Gokhale Bridge will be opened by May end

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said that the Gokhale Bridge, which is undergoing reconstruction, will be partially opened before heavy monsoon.

Mumbai, India - March 13, 2023: Gokhale Bridge, a major connector between Andheri East and West, completely dismantled in the morning, at Andheri, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, March 13, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

The civic body had initially said that two lanes of Gokhale Bridge will be opened by May end. Later, the partial opening was shifted to before monsoon.

The BMC has also floated a tender with an estimate worth ₹5.5 crore to add six submersible pumps at the Mogra Nullah system to minimise flooding at the Andheri subway.

The BMC officials said they are ready with a contingency plan to ensure that Andheri subway remains flood-free during monsoons in case the reopening of Gokhale Bridge was delayed.

Additional Commissioner (Projects), P Velrasu said, “We will try our best to open two lanes before heavy monsoon and the additional pumps are part of the contingency plan.”

In its tender for installing additional water pumps, the BMC said the pumps will be set up on two different locations of Mogra Nullah which will have a capacity to pump 3,000 cubic metre water per hour.

Meanwhile, the Western Railways on Friday announced that the dismantling activity on the west side of the bridge was completed and the west side portion was handed over to the BMC on Thursday.

Adding that the eastside will be handed over to the civic body on March 31 after dismantling works on the east side was completed. The WR also said the construction of a new bridge including the railway portion will be done by the BMC.

The bridge, a part of which collapsed in 2018, killing two, is a key connector between Andheri east and west, and is one of the busiest routes in the suburb. Following the collapse, the bridge was kept partially open, while the BMC worked on reconstructing it in phases. The collapse also triggered the BMC to announce routine audits of all the bridges in the city. It was during this audit in September 2022 the bridge was announced unsafe forcing it to be completely shut from November 7, 2022.

(Additional inputs from Shashank Rao)